Why was Admiral Byrd at Toyko Bay at the Japanese Surrender Ceremonies?
After seeing a naval cover in an auction many years ago with a "Tokyo Bay" special Type-F postmark, from the USS Mount Olympus, I wondered about how and why a vessel later to become famous as the flagship of Operation Highjump was at Toyko Bay...
There was an article in Ice Cap News in 1978 as I recall, along with an illustration of the Type-F postmark of the Mount Olympus.
It comes about, verified by naval records, that the USS Mount Olympus was then the flagship for the Commander III Amphibious Forces with Admiral T.S. Wilkinson on board. The Mount Olympus was in Toyko Bay on September 2, 1945 as they landed the occupation forces of the First Cavalry Division. Admiral Wilkinson was unable to attend the ceremony on board the USS Missouri (BB-63). The kicker is that he sent a representative on his behalf, none other than Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd!!
Given the possible Nazi connection alluded to in several conspiracy theories, and in the enclosure from the Fidelity Stamp Company I have illustrated on another of my pages, it makes for interesting fodder for thought. Was Byrd given a chance to see some of the fruits of his labor? All the time he had spent in Antarctica before the end of the war ostensibly keeping an eye out for the Nazis, and then he gets to attend the surrender ceremony of Nazi ally, Japan? Interesting at the least. Coincidence or not?
And then of course, just a bit over a year later, Operation Highjump and all the conspiracy theories involved with that operation make the whole connection very interesting. One of the most interesting aspects to me is that just a little over a year after the end of World War II, the US sent a military operation to Antarctica. I say military in that Admiral Byrd was not actually placed in charge of the overall operation, Admiral Cruzan was. Byrd was left in charge of the "ice" part, but destroyers, submarines and armed resupply vessels were part of the contingent, a fact which is intriguing. Who were they going after? Nazi remnants perhaps?
If anyone has any other information, feel free to contact me!
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QSLnet/KG0YH page created 08-27-2003
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